| Script for this comic | SelectShow |
|---|---|
PANEL 1 The first panel has a close-up of a Black person’s hands pushing a boulder uphill. The title of the strip, “Modern Sisyphus,” is written on the boulder. PANEL 2 PANEL 3 PANEL 4 PANEL 5 PANEL 6 | |
- New political cartoon: The Modern Sisyphus. http://t.co/T3VIn5qK
- There are five people working in the studio today... and five bicycles parked in the studio. This is so stereotypically Portland.
- RT @Living400lbs: "Saying everybody should be same weight is like saying all should be the same height." - Linda Bacon, PhD aka @LindaBa ...
- The completed drawing will include 4 female Robins, 5 Batgirls, 2 Batwomen, 2 Blackbats, Huntress, Spoiler, Oracle, and Ace the Bat-Hound.
- RT @baratunde: if you didn't watch this Hooters tribute to 9/11, you don't really love america http://t.co/UVlwZKQ
- A drawing of a female Robin sitting on top of a giant toy dinosaur: http://t.co/1gfx0n1 #whynot
- If anyone lives in Seattle and has a guest bedroom they'd let me use on the night of the 24th, please let me know. :-)
- Comic Creators' Workgroup meeting in SE Portland, Sunday afternoon at 2pm: http://t.co/QKBfCM8
- RT @ExhibitionistSF: Fat activist Marilyn Wann is back: "Telling Kids "Don't Be Fat!" Is a High-Risk Message" http://t.co/HwPHMrP
- http://t.co/iqRcxdf "by obsessing over deficits, Washington has been making the real problem — mass unemployment — much worse."
2 Comments
Ooooo, oooo, ooo …! I can’t put my finger on it, but this cartoon creates an itch yet doesn’t quite scratch it. May I offer some thoughts? I mean, like, a lot?
The Sisyphus motif is such a good metaphor for the endless task that minorities face when explaining themselves to members of majorities; a metaphor this good really needs to knock the point out of the park. (Mixing metaphors, I know.) But I’m not wowed by the “just don’t think about it” response. It doesn’t strike me as sufficiently clueless and insensitive. And that’s coming from me!
As a matter of substance, what if the guy on the hill says something defensive and egocentric, indicating that he’s focused on himself rather than on what she’s telling him? “So you’re saying everything’s my fault?” Or “Yeah, yeah, I know; blame everything on Whitey….” Thus her labors are undone. And the logical response would be for her to begin, yet again, reassuring him that HE is not the issue, but that issues remain. This fulfills the Sisyphus theme.
And what if he remains at the top of the hill? Have him lean on a water cooler or something, staring at his cup or Blackberry – indicating that he’s being clueless, not obstinate.
She gives the ol’ two-faced look: one looking incredulously at him; one looking with dismay at the bolder retreating down the hill, with a swirly line indicating rapid back-n-forth motion. I’m sure you cartoonists have a special term for these conventions.
In the last panel would involve her slumping back down the hill saying, “Uh … interesting point; give me a minute….” And he can close with something really callous: “Can we hurry this up? I’ve got a lot on my mind, you know” or something.
Then again, I’ve had a lot of coffee and I’m feeling mean, so this may be distorting my perspective. Plus, David Brooks is increasing my blood pressure and shortening my lifespan; honestly, I should send that bastard the bill for my acid reflux and statin drugs. I really feel like someone should be flogged, Brooks is beyond my reach, and that guy on the top of the mountain was just getting off too easy….
Oooh, those are good suggestions!
I don’t make changes that major after a strip is done — I prefer to move on to the next one — but if I did, I’d be seriously considering making those changes.
Post a Comment